Mise en Place
by Kitten1313
Summary: Human AU. Alfred's only known his little home town and his father's restaurant but he yearns for something more. So when he's given the chance to work in London he takes it, never realizing that it would open his eyes to the world he left behind.


Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decisions in life; if Pops would be proud of me for what I've done in my short nineteen years. I know I gave him a heart attack once or twice before but I always knew I had a place to call my own. He was the pillar of the family and in my eyes he always will be. I mean he ran that restaurant since his old man gave it to him fifty years ago.

For someone passing through our little town wouldn't think much of it. It was a tall white building that, a few hundred years before was a large barn. Through the years it was transformed into one of the oldest restaurants in the state. It was what our little town was famous for and people came miles around just for breakfast.

And did we ever have a damn good breakfast. Eggs, pancakes, scrapple and home fries, each one piled high on round plates with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Lunch was a mix of hot soups, cold salads and burgers I would make from scratch. Well actually most of the things we had on the menu were made from scratch.

Mom always said that when made from scratch it's made from the heart so it would always taste better. No matter what the food reps said soup shouldn't come from a bag or frozen. "There will be no cutting corners." She would say when one would knock on the back door looking for a sale.

Unless it was Jim she's point her knife right at them. "Unless it's a good price on tomatoes I don't want to hear about it." Like always me or my brother Matthew would step in and defuse the situation. "Well?" She would say with a glare.

Most didn't say a word but made a hasty retreat for the door. Only one stood his ground against her and her large knife. "Tomatoes no," he started as he pulled out a small fruit. "But I have a good price on mangos." He must have been very brave, stupid or new because he took a few steps forward. "As well as sea scallops."

She lowered her eyes. "Fresh?" She asked going back to her carrot. "I don't believe in freezing such things. People can taste the difference you know."

He gave her a chuckle. "Now that might fly in Philly or Harrisburg but-"

With a loud chop she cut him off. "We aren't in Harrisburg, nor are we in Hershey." His eyes widened as again her knife rose off the cutting board. "We don't have the fancy things. We have good hearty food that people will wait to eat."

I watched from the sidelines. I would have intervened if I wasn't making a few orders. "Times are changing Mrs. Jones people want more than just fried potatoes and some mashed up pig parts."

I looked down at the scrapple I was frying. He was right to a point; we hadn't changed much of anything about the menu in a decade. So while I should have kept my mouth shut I couldn't help it. "I think a scallop special for dinner would be awesome."

The man turned to me with a grin. "If you do you should go all the way. I mean you're going to need some nice sauces to go with it or a starch since you can't just have scallops on a plate."

My mother would say later that she saw a spark in my eyes. "Dude do you have any purple potatoes or what about those mangoes?" I was walking on thin ice since the only ones that would do the ordering at that time was my Mom or Pops.

His eyes darted back to my mother who was just listening. "Well I could get you a case of mangoes and we do have about four different kinds of potatoes right now if that's what you want."

I nodded with a large grin on my face. "Sounds good so when will they be here?"

"Tomorrow." He answered before turning on his heels and walking out. "About nine." And with that he was gone.

I turned back to the meals I was making hoping that in that short moment I didn't burn anything. "Well," She started joining me on the cooking line. "Where did that come from?" Lucky for me she was smiling.

"Oh um…" I answered as I piled a plate full of eggs. "I'm sorry Mom I can cancel the order."

"No it's alright." She said as she kissed my cheek. She saw something in me that would take a few years for me to grasp. It was a hunger I didn't know I had but it would lead me to a nation I never dreamed of ever seeing. "I'll tell your father to put it on the menu for tomorrow."

"Yeah…" I said as the ticket machine bolted to life. "What if he doesn't like it?"

She ripped the ticket down and handed it to me. "He will because you made it for him."

It was a good line even if it was a lie or at least I thought it was.


End file.
